Here's chapter forty – five. Thank you Aburg76, RedRat8, Kiri Kaitou Clover, Parks98, ultima-owner, bowser3000000, Paxloria, OrionGold, and kewllewk for reviewing last chapter!

Chapter Forty – Five: How to Change Your Fate

Shirou whipped around, lifting Vir and backpedaling. He tried to quell his surprise and fear—the bear's own emotions, now barreling over the magical link, made that more difficult, filled with darkness and a mindless, uncontrolled rage.

It's not a Heartless.

The bear charged; Shirou turned aside, slashing it as it paused.

But its darkness is probably going to attract them.

The bear skidded to a halt, turning.

Shirou focused and sent determination, full force, over the link, hoping to break through the bear's rage and stall it.

It paused, head cocked, eyes gleaming. It sniffed and growled quietly.

Shirou inhaled and exhaled slowly, pressing the determination.

The bear shook his head, then roared and charged again.

Shirou's eyes snapped wide a moment, then he moved, snapping Vir into the ground and flinging dirt into the bear's eyes. He scrambled aside while the bear skidded to an unceremonious halt, shaking its head.

The bear's nose twitched, its head whipping back and forth.

Shirou took a deep breath and focused. The magical connection narrowed and refined. He took a few paces, then moved, sprinting towards the bear and swiping its rear right leg.

The bear whipped towards him, snarling, but he'd already moved, striking the bear's left shoulder and leaping out of range. He swept Vir towards the bear's side and moved again, jumping back when the bear lunged, claws slamming the ground.

The rage intensified. The bear reared.

Shirou hurried back, transforming Vir and shooting an energy arrow.

The arrow struck the bear's stomach, but it hardly faltered, landing with a crash, dirt and grass flying everywhere.

Shirou glanced at the rocks, then released Vir, jumping and making an attempt to scramble up one's side. His fingers caught in some niches in the stone, and he kicked, boosting himself higher, but they could quite reach the stone's top. He kicked again, reaching higher.

Pain shot through his leg. His fingers slipped, and he nearly hit his head off the rock; his hands slammed the side and flung him aside.

Grass and dirt filled his mouth and his vision filled with spots. The bear swung, and the ripping pain through his leg intensified; he gripped the ground with his fingernails, but they slid through the dirt easily. He summoned Vir, turning quickly and firing an arrow at the bear's eyes. The arrow hit its jaws instead, and he fired a second, this one just above the eye, slamming the bear with a wave of foreign emotions and pain at the same instance.

The bear released, roaring, and Shirou scrambled backwards. He allowed the full force of the pain to bear across the link while he tried and failed to stand, his leg giving out beneath him and blood staining his leg. He pulled a potion from his pack, silently praying that the bear would remain distracted, and drank it. The pain abated slightly; the bleeding mostly stopped; the wound knitted itself closed, save for a few shallow puncture wounds.

"Better be careful," called a voice.

The cloaked figured sat on one of the stone pillars. He tilted his head. "Or your fate may change in ways you don't want."

Shirou stared at him, wide-eyed, a few moments, then focused on the bear when it shook itself and refocused.

Shirou scrambled to his feet and dashed behind one of the pillars. He kept moving, keeping his magic center on the bear, and weaved through the pillars, the bear crashing after him.

"You've done all this training," the figure continued, "and for what? You will do the same thing all Keybearers have done, and will do, for generations."

Shirou turned and fired an arrow at the charging bear.

"You can't even use magic right. Did you ever wonder why?"

The bear changed tactics, breaking into a straight charge across the clearing. Shirou skidded to a halt, turned back the other direction, and circled around the stone, firing an arrow.

"You wanted to honor their deaths, didn't you?"

Shirou froze. Heat crept up his neck. His hands shook.

The bear's rage made him focus. He fired a few more arrows, backpedaling rapidly.

"How does this do any of that? When you've forgotten your own home? Your own origin? What about the people you made promises to? Do they not matter to you any longer?"

The bear gained ground.

Shirou turned Vir back into blade form, lifting to swing at the bear's muzzle, and suddenly found himself pressed against stone.

"But I suppose I should expect nothing else from a mere shade." Real venom entered the figure's voice. "A memory of the person you could have become."

The bear slammed its head into Shirou's chest, pressing him against the rock, it's teeth digging into flesh.

Shirou screamed. His vision contorted. His hearing buzzed. He turned Vir and slammed it into the bear's skull.

"But very well. If you live, may you continue this pointless path, easing your guilt even as you know this can never redeem you."

"Enough!" Shirou opened the link fully and slammed it into the bear—rage and pain and frustration and guilt. He stabbed the back of the bear's neck.

The bear released him, shaking its head and scrambling backwards.

Shirou fell, for a moment too stunned to do anything. He fumbled at his bag, his vision spotty, searching for a potion.

The figure said, "Can you really deny my words?"

Shirou hesitated. He transformed Vir, turned the weapon, and fired.

The energy arrow buzzed towards the figure, who disappeared before it even hit. His voice echoed back: "There's a way to change things, you know. Something big is coming. You can fix the mistakes of the past."

Shirou dragged a potion free, fumbling with the cork, his hands shaking while he lifted it. Drops splashed onto his cheeks and shirt, pale green mixing with red on his stomach. Warmth flowed towards the wound, swimming beneath his skin, staunching the blood flow, winding around internal injuries and repairing skin wounds.

His vision and hearing still wouldn't clear.

He turned towards the bear and lifted Vir. He fired an arrow, and for a moment, it looked like several more had appeared, coming from a different direction.

Then he slid into unconsciousness.

-Sound returned first. Voices—both female—drifted through his barely conscious mind. Shirou groaned, blinking, blurred shapes and colors appearing and slowly defining themselves.

The image of a furious bear flashed through his mind.

Shirou jerked into an upright position. The muscles tugged in his abdomen, and he grunted, clutching his side.

"Hey!" one of the voices protested. "You shouldn't be moving just yet."

A young girl with wild red hair stood nearby. An older woman stood behind him, and around them were bears—carvings, paintings, and other general bear memorabilia.

Shirou blinked, only managing to squeak a, "What?"

The girl said, "You're lucky I found you, or Mor'du would've got you for sure."

"Mor'du?"

"The bear."

He blinked, his mind turning for an answer. "You shot the arrows."

She nodded.

Shirou held his head.

"My name's Merida." She extended a hand.

Shirou accepted it hesitantly. "Shirou."

"Well," the old woman said, "this is all well and good, but what do you plan to do with him?"

"Me?"

"He can't stay here."

"And I can't take him back to the castle! My mother's already furious with me."

Shirou interrupted, "That's alright. I don't need to stay anywhere very long. I heal quickly." His hands went to his side, then paused.

"Looking for this?" Merida lifted his pack. "We had to take it off you to look at your wound."

The woman nodded. "Wasn't as bad as I thought, considering you scrapped with that ungrateful lug."

Shirou raised an eyebrow.

"Oh, yeah," Merida added, "there was a man on top of one of the rocks, wasn't there? I know I saw someone, but he just disappeared."

Shirou stiffened.

"Do they not matter to you any longer?"

They do!

He offered a shrug. "I don't know who he is."

Merida raised an eyebrow, then huffed, "I suppose that's well enough." She glanced towards the old woman.

She sighed. "You want to keep talking about this, do you?"

"Of course! I've heard what you're actually a witch—"

"Hush!" The woman waved her hands.

Shirou smiled slightly.

"If you live, may you continue this pointless path, easing your guilt even as you know this can never redeem you."

The screams that had never entirely left his nightmares returned as whispers in the back of his mind.

This is all I can do.

"But I suppose I should expect nothing else from a mere shade."

What can you expect of me? His fingernails curled into his pants. I can't save them! I made peace with that!

"Did you ever wonder why?"

Shirou inhaled and exhaled slowly.

"There's a way to change things, you know. Something big is coming. You can fix the mistakes of the past."

He lowered his head, heat tingling his neck.

A door slamming jerked his attention back to the present. Merida was now missing, leaving him alone with the old woman.

"Poor girl," the woman muttered. "Wants so badly to have a different future. But I'm not sure why everyone thinks this'll help them." She eyed an empty potion bottle.

Shirou said, "You're a magic user."

"Shh!" She cast a glance about. "Not so loud! That's frowned upon, you know."

"It's alright. I am, too." He grinned ruefully. "It's how I survived, ah, Mor'du."

"Well, I guess that would explain something, wouldn't it?" The woman's shoulders relaxed.

Shirou twiddled his thumbs, glancing at one of the bear statues. "What does the potion do?"

"Eh? Well, it changes people's fates, of course! By turning them into bears." She laughed.

Shirou didn't answer.

The room grew quiet. The woman sat beside him, the bed creaking quietly. "Mor'du was my first customer, you know. He was a prince, once, but wanted so badly to become stronger. I gave him the potion. He got his wish, but now he's trapped that way." The woman tossed the bottle and caught it again, examining it in the gleaming light. "Changing fate always comes with a heavy price."

Shirou cast her a glance.

"You have something heavy weighing on your mind. I can see it in your eyes. And like our dear rebellious friend, you think I have the answers."

Shirou hesitated, considering his words. "Do you think it's right? Changing someone's fate, I mean."

"I couldn't say. It can be good or bad, but I'll tell you this—it doesn't come about from bottles and potions and magic. It comes about from the choices you make. It's the lesson Mor'du never learned, and the one I hope Merida does."

Shirou clasped his hands.

"So, are you like most of my customers, and want a different future? Dissatisfied with the path life's taken?"

He shook his head. "No. I've been very lucky. But I'm not sure I—" He broke off, unsure he wanted to voice the thought, and continued on a different path. "My mentor—my father, and my friends, and even myself have always expected the same thing of me, up until now. But there's—there's something going on. Someone who's made me rethink my choices, and—and made me think I should return to where I was born. That maybe I've been going about things all wrong."

The woman laughed. "Well, that's all very cryptic, isn't it?" She sobered. "Well, what do you think? You want a potion to make it better?"

He crinkled his nose. "I don't want to be a bear."

"Good." The woman pocketed the bottle. "Whatever you choose, there'll be consequences. Listen to your heart, and figure out where it leads you, so you aren't left with regret in the end."

Shirou absorbed the information and frowned.

"I didn't say it'd be easy. Give it some thought." The woman shrugged, then moved. "Oh, go send that girl in, and tell her I'll make her a potion."

Shirou started.

"Eh, some people just need a kick in the pants."

Shirou blinked, then chuckled, and stood. "Can I have my pack?" He extended a hand.

The woman glanced at it. "Oh, fine. But I want one of your healing potions as payment."

"Alright." He took a bottle from the pack. "For the wisdom."

"For the healing. Wisdom's free." The woman turned back to her task.

Shirou left.

Merida stood some distance away, shooting arrows into a tree.

"You have a good shot."

"Thanks."

"She said she'd make your potion."

Merida whipped around. "Really?"

Shirou nodded.

Merida grinned, her shoulders falling, arms hanging loose. "Oh, this'll solve everything!" She hurried past him.

"Wait!"

She stopped.

"Thanks for saving me. And I hope everything works out—with your 'fate'."

Merida smiled. "Thank you." She started to go again, then paused. "Oh, and I saw your necklace. Who'd you got that from?"

He lifted a hand and fingered the star, now hanging outside his shirt. "A friend of a friend. It's a good luck charm."

"I thought so. I've seen a few of the like around the castle. Supposed to ward off evil spirits." She turned and headed into the hut.

Shirou watched, waiting a few moments. Then, slowly, he turned, and walked away.


That's it for this chapter! Review responses:

Aburg76: Sora meeting the puppet Master hopefully that isn't a disaster that is waiting to happen. –Insert evil laughter here.- Alright taking up his attention so that a bear can sneak up of Shirou's is this guy a messing with Shirou, genuinely trying to steer him to the 'correct' path or just manipulating the poor kid? Actually don't answer that. – Well, I wasn't really planning on it, so…wish granted?

RedRat8: Though now that I think about it, aren't technically key-blades basically swords? And in a sense the X-Blade can be considered to be a sword as well? And Shirou is the Incarnation of Blades? I feel like that is a major reason for the Darkness to return and the likes. – Maybe~

Kiri Kaitou Clover: I'm drawing parallels to Ven again with Shirou, this time being Ven's first encounter with Vanitas. – Good; that was done on purpose. Also, malleable Heart? It does explains how Sora was able to house Ven, and the fact that Shirou had originally been left without memories, it did leave his Heart open for influence. Still the core of Shirou's magic is Sword. I'm trying to understand this, but can Heart Magic work along side the Nasuverse magic? – I don't know that heart magic would work quite the same under Nasuverse laws instead if Keyblade laws, but there could, potentially, be a variation—but it is an extremely rare magic form that doesn't usually develop much, so there haven't really been an 'true' heart mages in Gaia, apart from Shirou, whose situation is…questionable.

Parks98: But what really caught my attention was the fact that shirou knew or kinda knows about UBW. When exactly did this happen? That and I think it would funny if Sora mentioned it and Aqua would have a flash back to the the keyblade graveyard with Xehanort and Vanitus using the blades to attack. – I'm guessing you meant that Sora knows? He caught glimpses of it connecting to EMIYA's heart while fighting him. And that'd certainly be interesting, wouldn't it?

ultima-owner: Ah yes the man turned bear that is so driven by greed and hate that the heartless must think he's Filet mignon just waiting to be cooked and served on a silver platter. – Which Shirou certainly picks up on! Do note that despite the fact that Shirou didn't run into Heartless here, there are plenty on the world.

bowser3000000: Is this Shirou would be capable of trace the X-Blade? – I will answer that no, he can't trace the X-blade; no Keyblades, including the X-blade, can be traced because of their otherworldly nature and intimate connection to other people's hearts.

Paxloria: I'm kinda curious about what would happen if: ~Shirou ended up participating in the 5th Grail War ~ Keyblader Shirou ever met Servant Emiya. – Shirou will be involved in the Grail War—but likely not in the manner people expect. As for the second, he will also be meeting his Servant self—and I am very excited for that moment. (Also, for the mixing up on stories: It's fine! It happens to everyone sometimes.)

OrionGold: I really hope that we see Shirou interact with the Fate/Stay Night cast and participate in the Holy Grail War next chapter because we're 44 chapters in and I feel like I'm still reading the prologue. – I will freely admit that, despite the earlier chapters serving a purpose (and having a ridiculous amount of foreshadowing), it was still poorly executed. While he didn't interact with them this chapter, it's coming up soon—after about two more chapters, actually.

Kewllewk: From a narrative perspective, I can understand why you would make the fight against Kirei a significant struggle. From an objective one, however, there's absolutely no way Kirei can stand up to a serious Sora, for the simple fact that Sora has fought and beaten people that so outclass his capabilities that it's an insult to the entire Kingdom Hearts power levels to make Kirei this good. – Just to cover all my bases, I'm going to direct you to the guest review at the end of chapter 32 for my reasoning (which you may have already read, but just in case). If there are issues of this sort continuing in more recent chapters, please inform me!

If you have any thoughts, questions, theories, criticisms, or anything of the like, please leave a review!